Dozens of supporters of influential Iraqi Shi’ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr demonstrated outside the Supreme Council of the Judiciary in Baghdad on Tuesday to demand the dissolution of parliament and early general elections.
Al-Sadr supporters pitched tents in front of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary and installed banners urging authorities to dissolve parliamentschedule early parliamentary elections and fight corruption.
The protesters also denounced what they say is the politicization of the judiciary.
The Superior Council of the Judiciary and the Federal Supreme Court, in a statement, indicated that Suspended court sessions after receiving “telephone threats” to pressure them to dissolve parliament.
Iraq is immersed in a serious political crisis after supporters of al-Sadr invaded and occupied the parliament in late July, before moving their camp to the gardens of the institution.
Interim Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi last week called a meeting of top political leaders and party representatives to find a solution, but al-Sadr’s party did not attend.
Given these events, this Tuesday Al-Kadhimi left a regional meeting of leaders in Egypt to return to Baghdad. A statement from his office warned that the suspension of the justice system could lead the country to “serious dangers” and called for calm and a return to political negotiations.
In a message on the social network. twitterthe president of the Iraqi parliament, Mohammed al-Halboosi, called on the protesters not to attack the judiciary, since this body is crucial in times of crisis.
ندعم التظاهراlear وفق القانونية القانوناior
— محمد الحلبوسي (@AlHaLboosii) August 23, 2022
On Saturday, Al-Sadr urged his supporters to be prepared to stage mass protests across Iraq, but later postponed the rally – after Iranian-backed groups called for protests the same day – saying he wanted to preserve peace and “Iraqi blood is priceless.”
According to the Constitution, the dissolution of parliament must be approved by an absolute majority. It can be requested by a third of the deputies, or by the Prime Minister with the agreement of the President of the Republic.
Al-Sadr justified his recourse to justice by recalling that all the deadlines granted by the Constitution to appoint a new president and a new head of government were not respected after the last legislative elections in October 2021.
In this way, he invited his former deputies and supporters to go to court to demand the dissolution.
Ten months after this vote, the Iraq still awaits the appointment of a prime minister and a presidentin a climate of profound political differences.
Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, al-Sadr’s historical enemy, recently declared that calling early elections is the sole responsibility of parliament.
The most recent political crisis began when the ‘Sadrist’ current rejected at the end of July a candidacy for the post of prime minister presented by the Coordination Board, a coalition of influential pro-Iranian Shiite factions.
Source: Observadora
